TOKYO, March 11, 2015 — The following is a statement by the World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim:"On the occasion of the Fourth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and... Show More + tsunami, the World Bank Group remembers the thousands of people and families affected by the disaster.We would like to pay tribute to the determination and resilience of the people of Tohoku, which is a source of inspiration around the world.The Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, hosted by the Government of Japan in Sendai, alongside related events in Aomori, Iwate, Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures, offers an historic occasion for global leaders to renew their commitment to curb rising losses stemming from disasters and protect the poor and vulnerable from the threat of future disasters.The World Bank Group reaffirms its commitment to work with its partners towards creating a safer world, by building on the knowledge and experience of the people of Japan.”On March 16 Show Less -

Honorable Secretary Soliman…., Ladies and Gentlemen,Good morning and welcome to Manila and to this conference on Strengthening Social Protection Systems to Manage Disaster and Climate Risk in Asia and... Show More + the Pacific. The World Bank is honored to jointly host this conference, with the Philippines’ lead social protection agency, the Department of Social Welfare and Development. This Conference is a great opportunity to share knowledge and experience on how countries cope with one of the greatest challenges in human existence: the climate change and related environment disasters, and also share knowledge and experience on the role of social protection not only in dealing with aftermath of disasters , but also in adapting to climate change and decreasing the risk to disaster. You will hear in the next three days the experiences of 17 countries from three continents --- Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Myanmar, Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Show Less -

Distinguished co-chairs, members of the panel, your excellences, ladies and gentlemen, friends and colleagues,There is no need to debate the reality of climate change. The scientific consensus of the last... Show More + few years has brought climate change over the planning horizon for all countries. The science is absolutely clear and is understood almost everywhere. The impacts are being felt now. And in fact, the economics are compelling. A dollar invested in early warning can save $30 in the cost of relief and reconstruction after a disaster.The costs are already punishing, especially for small island developing states. It is only the politics globally and nationally that are in doubt. As the Secretary-General of the United Nations and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim have said, 2014 must be the year of climate action. As Mary Robinson highlighted, in less than one month from now, heads of state and CEOs will meet in New York to confirm their commitment to take action on climate change.The Show Less -

Before I close, let me thank our partners. Firstly, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, for embracing the Citywide approach in the National Informal Settlement Upgrading Strategy.... Show More + Secondly, Social Housing Finance Corporation, for leading the process of promoting the Citywide approach across the country. Thirdly, the Mayors, LGU officials, CSOs and the communities that are here today, for taking the initiative to pilot your own versions of the Citywide approach. We hope to learn from your experiences. Last but not the least, The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Korean Government, and Cities Alliance, for providing support and funding to the World Bank for the Citywide approach pilots in the Philippines.In closing I hope that this conference helps build the momentum to scale-up the Citywide approach. We look forward to working closely with you all to tackle the challenge of informal settlement upgrading, and to contribute to reducing urban pov Show Less -

MR. DONNELLY: Good morning, everyone. My name is John Donnelly. I'm President Kim's Communications Advisor. We really appreciate that you came here this morning in advance of our... Show More + trip to Korea and Japan. Just a couple of ground rules for this. As we told you a couple of times, that we are releasing information about our new financing for the Philippines tragedy, but everything else in the press conference is embargoed until 11:00 a.m. Sunday, our time.First, President Kim will open with a statement, and then we'll take questions from you.Thank you.DR. KIM: Thank you very much. Thank you very much for coming.And I wanted to invite a few reporters from Japan and Korea. I'll be going to both countries in about a week's time, and thought you might be interested in learning about what we're trying to accomplish.First, I want to report I had a phone call this morning with President Aquino of the Philippines. I expressed my sincere co Show Less -

Thank you for coming.I wanted to invite a few reporters from Japan and Korea as I’ll be heading to both countries in about a week’s time. I thought you might be interested in what we’re looking to accomplish... Show More + on my visits.First, though, I’d like to report on a phone call that I had this morning with Philippine President Benigno Aquino. I expressed my sympathy to the government and people of the Philippines for the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan. I also offered to President Aquino an additional $480 million dollars in additional financial assistance to help communities lead the reconstruction effort. This follows a $500 million dollar emergency loan announced earlier this week, bringing our total package close to $1 billion dollars. We know that the relief, recovery, and reconstruction efforts will take time. The World Bank Group is committed to supporting the government’s efforts to rebuild people’s lives no matter how long it takes.I also told President Aquino that I very m Show Less -

Dr. Kim: Thank you very much, your Excellency, Dlamini-Zuma. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, and especially Prime Minister Abe, last fall during the annual meetings of the World Bank I had the opportunity... Show More + to visit Sendai and I was deeply moved by the scale of the suffering that the people experienced. But I was even more moved by the fact that everyone there, and especially the Japanese authorities, kept stressing to me that the most important thing to them was that they wanted to help other countries, especially poor countries, knowing that so many countries would not be able to respond in the way that Japan had responded.So for me it was an indication of something very powerful, that I think you can tell the greatness of a country and a people when they're able to respond to disaster and untold suffering by thinking of others. I want to congratulate you and the Japanese people for working so hard to help others to deal with disaster. [Applause]Dr. Kim: As many o Show Less -

Joint Press Conference with Mexican Finance Minister José Antonio Meade and OECD Secretary-General José Ángel Gurría at the G20 on Disaster Risk ManagementDR. KIM: La gestión del riesgo de desastres ... Show More + puede entenderse como un tema de vida o muerte, de desastre económico, o de prevención, o de recuperación, todos sabemos que los pobres son los más afectados cuando algún desastre golpea. Por eso, quiero destacar la atención brindada a este tema por el gobierno de México.[The disaster risk management can be understood as a matter of life and death, of economic disaster, or prevention, or recovery. We all know that the poor are the most affected when a disaster strikes. So, I want to highlight the attention given to this issue by the government of Mexico.]In Washington, we experienced the force of Hurricane Sandy, and we saw the destruction that it caused in the Caribbean and all along the East Coast of the United States. It's a powerful reminder that no country is immune f Show Less -

MODERATOR: [Interpreted from Japanese.] We'd like to start the press conference of Dr. Kim and Minister Jojima. As to how we proceed at the outset, Dr. Kim and Minister Jojima will speak and... Show More + then we will entertain questions. For those who have questions, please raise your hand and I will call on you.So, after you have received the microphone, please state your name and affiliation and indicate to whom the question is directed before you ask your question.So, Minister Jojima, please.MINISTER JOJIMA: [Interpreted from Japanese.] Well, thank you.Well, this time Sendai dialogue meeting which lasted for two days had been completed successfully. I would like to thank speakers and the members on the panel as well as people who had contributed to the joint study, as well as attendants and the delegates coming from various different countries and organizations. And also, I would like to thank all those who have been involved in setting up the conference.And I Show Less -